Green tree frogs..

Z

zach

Guest
you guys have helped me with my salamanders so now let's try frog. I am thinking of getting one, in a ten gallon with a screen. Food will be crickets, topsoil for a substrate. Also a water dish, fake plants and drift wood. Any more advice as in breedin/lightin and heating. Thanks
 
Hi Zach,

First things first, congratulations on your good taste! I'm just getting into these animals, like you after keeping Salamanders, and I think they are really charming... the petshop staff were sad to see them go.

Some miscellaneous thoughts:

1) What species, exactly, are you talking about? (I have now got the American treefrog, Hyla cinerea, and the European Yellow-Lemon Treefrog, Hyla savignyi. I think the latter are in danger of being confused with Hyla arborea).

2) There is stuff on the Web about the Hylids but most of it seems to be zoological info about wild populations (eg location, recordings of calls etc.)Try running a search at www.yahoo.com for green + treefrog.
I have only seen one caresheet... a need here perhaps?

3) My set-up: small plastic tanks, Repti-bowl, fine bark chippings for substrate. No lighting or heating. I'm feeding 3rd and 4th instar house crickets but want to experiment with diet.

4) One of the great things about these chaps is their call. I brought them home on the bus and every one of the other passengers wanted to know why my shopping bag was barking...!

5) I get the feeling that these are common pets in the States but interest in the UK is low. Perhaps it used to be higher? Lovely animals!!!

6) Do let us know how you get on. I'd like to swap experiences and knowledge with you so don't become a stranger :)

Best//Matt
 
Hey Matt,

I am actually pretty sure I will be getting one now. I have held off getting any til now because I wanted to try to find fake plants with big leaves,but I cant find any! It's ticking me off!! But I have an empty 10 gallon, I think I will get one American Green Tree Frog, cause they are for sale everywhere around me, for like 4 bucks. Only one problem with what you said, people have told me not to use any type of bark as a substrate because of they might eat it, I guess it is bad for them or something? well I am let you guys know if I told get one!

Zach
 
Zach,

Nice to hear from you again.

Re bark as substrate - haven't heard of that warning from the herp keepers I know (they swear by it) - but could be an interesting tip. I will investigate further.

(Re planting. I still haven't got this sorted out yet, to my satisfaction. What I'd really like to find is a big air plant (Bromeliad) that would be low on maintenance, look striking and yet be broad enough for frogs to sit on/against...hmm.)

Anyway, do let us know how you get on.

PS
Interesting to think how common and inexpensive they are Stateside... here they often start at about £10 and upwards (approx $15?).

PPS
Why not two and try to breed?
 
Matt

I would try breeding, but I guess they are extremely hard to breed, or so they say. My breeding project now is my marbleds and once my spotted's morph, them as well. The thing with two would be tank, and money. I only have a ten gallon. I am thinking of getting a 20 high cause I just got 40 bucks today, but that wont be enough for a tank and cover, or it could be not sure.

Zach
 
Hi again Zach,

I just wanted to add a note re bark chippings as a substrate. I'm hoping we can open this up to get some advice / hear the experience of others (Marc? John?).

My first feed for my new frogs today. The European treefrogs seemed to have no problem distinguishing cricket from substrate. They are smaller animals but very precise when hunting.

The behaviour of the American frogs made my heart sink. I think you are either right in your warning, Zach, or there is a significant risk you are right. ***By the time you read this I'll have added a new layer of substrate - topsoil / organic peat. ***

On two occasions a frog gulped a cricket with a bit of bark attached. (They are quite indiscriminant when they strike.) One piece was swiftly wiped away with a foot. The other seemed to be there one moment and not there the next - I will be going to bed a little worried tonight. Lesson learned.

My three questions now:
1) Is this a well-known concern re certain frogs in the way that Axolotls are known not to get on with gravel?
2) What would happen to a piece of swallowed bark?
Internal damage or obstruction? Work its way through, if small enough? Would stomach acids eventually break it down or do you have to be a rabbit or a cow to cope with cellulose? Are frog intestines an inevitable trap for a solid particle?
3) How about bark chippings as a substrate for other amphibians? (I was about to put some of it in my Salamander set-ups...)
 
I haven't kept many species of frog with bark chippings, but I found that big frogs/toads tend to just go for the food and they often swallow whatever else gets into their mouths too.

Answering your questions:

  1. <LI>I think it's a similar phenomenon, but I think bigger species of anuran are more prone to swallowing substrate than smaller ones because they're less likely to notice it. <LI>With luck, it should pass through the gut and come out the other end, but sometimes there can be blockages and if it's sharp, it's quite possible for the animal to rupture its gut. It wouldn't be broken down. Amphibians, being carnivores, have very short guts and are not designed to break down plant material, particularly big lumps of cellulose. They can regurgitate things from quite far down the digestive tract though. <LI>I don't like bark chippings, personally. Mainly because they can be swallowed and also because they often produce resin in small quantities, which is sticky and nasty in my opinion.</LI>

All the best,

John
 
Matt~

I haven't written in a while but I finally have a tank setup and will be getting probably one green tree frog. My tank setup is a 10 gallon tank, 4 plastic plants, one piece of driftwood that slants up, a water dish, and from PetCo, one of those driftwood that comes with alot of tall fake plants attached to it. I just need to get background and the frog now. My ? for anyone is, heating/lighting? What should I do? Oh yea my substrate is bed-a-beast.

Zach
 
What about forest bed (finely ground coconut bark)? Would smaller pieces cause problems?
 
My H.Meridionalis are doing great on a substrate of Sphagnum moss.
If the weather turns a bit cold, (their viv is in an unheated room for the Winter)they tunnel down into the moss, and as soon as the temperature rises a little, they re-surface and start to call and feed again.
I keep the Sphagnum slightly damp and not saturated
All the best....Kevin
 
hello to all green tree frog owners or well..soon to be that is! ha,ha,ha. i'm summer and i have 2 green tree frogs. let me tell you that if you put a live plant in the cage they will love it. at least mine did that is. if you have any ? please email me at this add.
frogloverslt@aol.com
i hope i have help.
summer
 
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